- Besiktas Istanbul – Malmo FF / 167$
- Inter Milan – Arsenal / 270$
- PSG – Atletico Madrid / 170$
- Club Brugge – Aston Villa / 220$
- Home (8 matches) – Away (8 games) / 164$
- Banfield – Belgrano / 216$
- Barracas Central – Racing Club / 164$
- Luton – Cardiff / 195$
- Obolon Brovar W – Shakhtar Donetsk W / 180$
- Kichenok/Ostapenko – Melichar-Martinez/Perez / 187$
Which Sport is Easier to Predict?
All fans of sports are familiar with the feeling of excitement when watching a match, and when everything ends with the victory of your favorite team or athlete, we are overwhelmed with a storm of emotions! Adrenaline, pleasant excitement and the joy of victory are what sports competitions bring to our lives. And the opportunity to make money by predicting the final of a match or tournament attracts more and more sports fans to the ranks of sports bettors.
Today, the global gambling market is estimated at almost $500 billion. In this article we will try to figure out which sport is the most attractive for betting.
But at once we should warn beginner betters: the review is only informational and is not a guide to action. It should always be remembered that one cannot talk about 100 percent confidence in anything when it comes to predicting the results of sports betting. Yes, the scenario may be probable or highly probable, but it will never be certain.
Therefore, before putting a large amount on one of the sports listed in the article, thoroughly study its features and nuances. And the first rule that we recommend remembering: the best sport for betting — the one which you understand. We, on our part, will help to understand the intricacies of betting on the most popular sports.
The main types of bets
Basically, bets are divided into ordinars, expresses and systems, depending on the calculation conditions and the number of outcomes. Sometimes bookmakers invent their betting options, for example, by whom the first goal will be scored, will there be a penalty shootout game, we will not be distracted by this, due to their low popularity and non-proliferation.
Ordinars
Ordinar is a bet on the result of one match. In this case, the winnings are calculated as the product of the initial odds by the amount of money put.
Express
Express is a bet on two or more events. In other words, the express is the sum of ordinars, and the final odds are formed by multiplying the odds of each individual outcome in the coupon. Here we must take into account that in order for your bet to play, it is necessary that the results of all the predicted events come true. In case of luck, the winnings can be very impressive.
System
There is also an advanced version of express, called the System. This is a kind of set of expresses for a certain number of events, but unlike the previous types of bets, one of the events is excluded in each of the expresses. That is, the right to one or even several mistakes is granted, which gives a greater chance of winning, but reduces the size of odds.
Pre-match and live betting
If the bet is made before the start of the match — this is a pre-match, and betting after the start of the match (i.e. during the game in real time) is live betting. There is no fundamental difference between them; in live mode, the same conditions are usually offered as before the start of a match. But if you are not sure of your predictions for the match, it is better to wait for it to start, analyze the first impression of teams playing, and make a correct prediction.
Having decided on the moment of making a bet (before or during a tournament), you need to decide how far you are ready to go in predicting the very outcome of an event itself. Bookmakers offer hundreds of betting options for each match, for the most part this is a lottery, the result of which depends on your luckiness. But there are some of the most popular options that can be predicted, based on their awareness and analytical skills.
So, you can bet on the exact score with which a match will end, which gives high odds, but has more risks. By the way, according to statistics, the most frequent outcomes of matches are the results of 1-0 and 2-1. You can bet on the overall outcome, that is, to win one of the team or a draw. This type is the most popular and safe in terms of possible losses, although not very high-yield.
The forecast for the number of goals scored by teams or points scored in total is called Total. More precisely, you are required to specify not the exact number of goals, but to predict whether they will be scored by both teams with more or fewer goals from a certain value set by a bookmaker. Total can be set for the main time of a match or for each half separately, for each team or both.
The list of the most popular types of bets a handicap is also worth mentioning.
Handicap is used to balance the strength of teams on the field, when the advantage of one of them is obvious. That is, we can provide a handicap to the underdog, which is expressed in the number of balls, points, seconds, etc., with a clear advantage in the class of one of them. It is important that in case of a loss, the difference between goals scored and goals missed is not more than odds we have established.
Asian handicap is a special kind of handicap described above with the only difference that it has a fractional form (the underdog is not filled with integer values, but multiples of 0.25 (0.75, 1.25, 1.75, etc.)). This type of handicap allows you to make interesting and unpredictable wagers with better odds than with the usual handicap.
Now, having dealt with the main types of bets, it remains to decide to which sport to apply the knowledge gained, in order not only to experience the storm of emotions from a game, but also to earn money from bets.
Football — the most popular among team sports
Among betters, football enjoys a particular interest, thanks to a wide variety of bets. Here is the opportunity to earn guessing the score, penalty cards, penalties, the number of substitutions and much more. We are pleased with a large number of national and international tournaments throughout the year, and the fact that bookmakers offer a wide list and stunning odds for individual significant matches.
As any shop offers football bets, the competition here is huge. Therefore, you can count on a low margin percentage with odds by 5-6 points higher than other sports. And thanks to the frenetic popularity of this sport, the highest betting limits are here too. So large shops are allowed to make bets in the amount of 10-20 thousand dollars, and with very significant events the limits rise to hundreds of thousands of conventional units.
An important advantage for those who adhere to the Live Betting strategy is a large number of television broadcasts, which makes it possible to track an event in real time, wherever you are during a match itself.
Dynamic tennis — ideal for live betting
A huge advantage of tennis is the fact that the form of an athlete is easier to track than to evaluate a team. It is enough to look at the last few games of a tennis player to assess their chances of winning. It is very interesting to hold bets in live mode: tennis is known for its comebacks, when a clear outsider from the middle of the match is gaining momentum and in the end pulls out a victory from the leader of the initial stage of the tournament.
Many professional players prefer to save power, showing the real game only from the second set. Given this factor, you can play with the forks and use handicaps with good benefits for yourself.
Tennis can be called a game sport. This means that there is no possibility of an athlete not playing, being on the field (with what teams sometimes sin). Each tournament ends with the victory of one of players, and a tournament itself lasts on average about two hours, which allows you to make several times more bets than it can be done in a football match.
Finally, the referee’s influence on the game is reduced to a minimum: in tennis, a referee, rather, plays the role of a commentator, who voices results of drawings and informs about the transfer of innings.
Hockey — a lot of funny and beautiful moments
It will probably be a surprise for many that the sport loved by so many people is inferior in terms of popularity not only to football and tennis, but also to baseball and basketball. Nevertheless, hockey has a number of its features, which may seem to be significant advantages when choosing a sports bet.
The most popular and powerful league of the planet, and therefore the most famous among betters, is the NHL. Also in the list of popular European matches are world championships, national by country, Olympic tournaments and the Continental Hockey League (KHL).
As in tennis, we note a large number of comebacks. Hockey is loved for entertainment and sensational turning points, when sometimes in the last seconds of a match there is a cardinal and unexpected change of outcome. And along with this, quite often large odds pass. Yes, many professional players avoid putting on hockey because of its unpredictability.
But we are ready to challenge a similar position: in hockey it is worth considering the tactics of betting in live mode, which will allow you to take advantage of high odds at the end of the game and significantly increase profits. Among the advantages you can also note the high frequency of meetings of each club, which allows you to be aware of the current form of teams.
Another feature of hockey — the presence of three periods of 20 minutes and breaks of 17 minutes. There are only two options for the outcome of the match (no draws). In case of a tie after the main game, an overtime of 5 minutes is assigned. And if after an overtime it was not possible to determine the winner, then a series of shootouts is appointed, the outcome of which will be the result of a match.
Based on these features, bookmakers offer the following types of bets on winning teams: the bet in the main time (without overtime and shootouts); taking into account overtime, but without a shootout; full match with overtime and shootout. In addition to bets on the outcome, you can bet on handicaps, total, the effectiveness of periods. It is important to know that deals on handicaps and totals can also be carried out on regular time, with overtime, with shootouts.
If you are preparing for your first bet with a bookmaker, you can try to play on a demo account or use a freebet. The highest performance of the game in the NHL, also in the list of popular European matches of the world championships, national in countries, Olympic tournaments and the Continental Hockey League (KHL).
Boxing — rare matches, but big money
Yes, broadcast professional fights are not as frequent as, for example, football or hockey matches. But this is exactly what allows you to spend time on the necessary preparation and identify a favorite.
It is also worth remembering that a boxing match consists of 12 rounds and has three outcomes — the victory of one of athletes or a draw. The victory can be different — on points, the finish of a battle by technical or simple knockout, as well as the removal of an athlete due to injury. When predicting the outcome of a match, it is better not to consider the option of a draw outcome, but to bet on the victory of one of athletes. In boxing, there is almost always a clear favorite, which is reflected in odds.
Usually bookmakers set odds on a favorite 1.05-1.3, which makes uninteresting online betting. For an ordinar, these odds will be frankly small, but having made an express, you can count on a good gain, because in boxing favorites rarely lose. If there are two equal in strength boxer, then the estimated odds can grow to 1.5-1.8. But there is more risk, as any of fighters can win.
In terms of rates, it is also a very diverse sport. Large intervals between matches give a lot of time to think through your strategy, using the opportunity to earn money on knockouts. It is possible to predict in which round a boxer will win, as well as the removal of points or domination over the points of one of fighters.
Traditionally, this sport is associated with big money. Today, most of the major bets are made by American players, since the most notable matches are held there, and, as a rule, American bookmakers in order to increase their profits obviously overestimate odds of a European athlete.
Baseball — number one on the American betting market
The popularity of baseball in the west has reached unbelievable proportions, but in the east this sport is still developed at the amateur level. But it is precisely this disadvantage that can be considered as a potential advantage, because in order to attract investment, bookmakers offer an interesting and rich line to bettors. Also, compared to other command types, the bookmaker’s margin is lower, since in baseball there are traditionally two outcomes — one side wins (very rarely there is a draw outcome in the preseason, but in this case a bookmaker makes a return at the rate).
In one game day, a large number of matches (sometimes up to 10) are held, and all this is in one league. The results are easy to follow, and, as a rule, it largely depends on the experience and skill of a server (pitcher).
The main rates in baseball include: a bet on the outcome, on total (you need to guess the number of perfect runs on both sides for 9 innings), handicap (standard: -1.5 — for a leader, +1.5 — for a lower class team) and home run (running all bases in one hit). If you compare with football, the line is much more modest, but it can also be considered as a kind of plus, not allowing you to be distracted by all sorts of “enticing” offers to a player, who is not yet very knowledgeable about the nuances of baseball.
Pros of bets on unpopular sports
We have listed the advantages of football, tennis, hockey, baseball and boxing, whose popularity is growing or keeping up with every day. Undoubtedly, sometimes it is worth looking at narrower directions, because the leading bookmakers offer a sufficient number of unpopular sports for betting. You can put on golf, handball, swimming, cycling or even eSports. Often, such a strategy can be very successful, because these events are not so widely covered in the press, which means that players and bookmakers are in equal conditions.
The main thing to remember is the golden rule: “the shortest way is the one you know well”, and in our case “the best kind of sports for bets is the one you can understand well”. Be scrupulous in preparation for a match, selective with respect to lines proposed by bookmakers and the choice of a shop itself. And always remember that luck loves stubborn ones, and the game on an ongoing basis using any strategy or system, even if its own, is sure to be crowned with success and money!